Burning Rose
by BoredGamer
Summary: Normally it's a joy to find your soulmate. When it's as easy as finding someone with a matching mark on their skin, you typically don't have to worry. That is, if your match isn't the wanted criminal you're hunting down. [Hints at Neiss, Black Sun, Gauntlet Buddies and a couple others]


Various warm colours paint the sky, the light shining down upon two figures. A mature figure rest ed against a lone tree, a younger body cuddled on their lap. Small fingers traced a faint white mark on the woman's skin. The girl sat in awe at the elegant dragon design that lay on her mother's skin. The wind blew lightly, dancing with their loose hair. The greenery created a melody,surrounding the two figures.

"One day you'll get one too" a gentle voice spoke.

The young girl smiled brightly, looking up from under neath her red hood. Her eyes danced with excitement . She wanted to ask when, what would hers look like, where will it be? All she was given was a feathery laugh and a "You will find out when the time comes".

* * *

><p>Soft morning light greeted the room where Ruby awoke. The girl stretched in the bed and looked around the dorm at her unconscious teammates. The morning air was still and everything was in it's place. Ruby sat there. Something wasn't right, but it wasn't wrong either. An annoyed sigh escaped her lips, she wasn't going to figure this out anytime soon.<p>

Lazily, she removed herself from the warm blankets and hopped off the health hazard of a bed. With a soft thud she landed on the floor, a chill crept up her spine from the cold surface. Muttering to herself, she went to fetched her clothing for the day. From the other top bunk a yawn filled the air followed by another thud.

"Morning, sis" the blond greeted her younger family member. Sleep was still evident in the girls voice as she stretched.

"Morning." Ruby returned the greeting with a more distracted tone.

Yang paused in her actions, looking over with a concerned expression. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah" She nodded, fiddling with the clothing in her dresser. "This morning just feels..._off_."

"How so?" Yang approached her, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Like something has been made...clearer?" Ruby trailed off, unsure how to explain the odd feeling in the air.

Yang's expression changed into a smile, suddenly getting an idea. She raised the now startled Ruby's arms. She searched all the exposed skin for something, receiving vocal expressions of confusion and anger in response. Out of all the possible reactions, Ruby was not expecting this one.

"What are you doing!?"

"Looking for..._this!_" Yang cheered as she lifted Ruby's pajama shirt to her shoulders.

"And what's that?" Ruby asked, a somewhat more calm annoyance in her voice.

"Your soulmate mark."

"My WHAT!?"

Ruby _tried_ to tilt her head around far enough to see the said mark. Sadly her neck wasn't long enough. A mixture of nervousness and excitement filled the young female. She wanted to ask what it looked like, or to get a mirror or something. She hoped it was as cool as her mother's had been.

"My baby sister is growing up!" Yang brought her sister into a bone crushing hug.

"Please, sis!"

"This is exciting! We need to get you some new clothes" Yang let go of the poor girl, leaving her some breathing space.

Ruby groaned at the comment, " At least tell me what it looks like first."

"It looks like a rose, but the petals are flames."

A soft smile spread on Ruby's face, it wasn't a dragon, but it was still cool.

"Now...about those clothes."

"Can't we just cut some holes in my current wardrobe?"

"Nope, you need some new ones to celebrate ."

"My cape will cover the tattoo anyways."

Yang rolled her eyes, "It's still the tradition. It makes it a lot easier to find your soulmate if both your marks are in plain sight."

Ruby sighed. This was a battle she wasn't going to win. They both knew this. The sisters went back to doing their usual morning routine. Turning back to her dresser, a thought came to Ruby's mind, the most important part of this tattoo.

_Who was her soulmate?_

* * *

><p>Muffled sunlight pushed it's way into the bedroom. The morning light wasn't so welcomed here. A figure shifted under the covers, annoyed groaning as he tried to avoid the light. Of course he had another late night job, this wasn't good for his sleep schedule. The man's scroll notified him of a message, much to his dismay. Maybe if he just laid there then Cinder would buzz off. He laid there in silence, <em>waiting.<em>

_Waiting._

_Waiting._

Maybe it would actually work.

Another buzz of notification destroyed Roman's hope. Of course it wouldn't work. Sluggishly he reached for the device, pulling it towards him. More brightness irritated his eyes as he read the screen in front of him. He played back the audio message. Another job, of course it's another job. It couldn't be a nice hello for once , could it?

"-and don't pretend to be asleep" Cinder's message ended with Roman halfheartedly mocking her.

Sighing, he reluctantly sat up. Well walking to the bathroom an odd feeling was making itself known in the air. Lack of sleep must be getting to him. He stared at his reflection in the mirror, scanning it for any irregularities. _Something_ was off, but what? He wasn't fond of how this morning was progressing.

He studied his surroundings, turning to look around the room. He leaned against the counter behind himself, relaxing against it. Everything appeared to be in it's place, much to his relief and disappointment. Not bothering to fully turn around, he looked behind himself.

"Well..."

He was greeted with his reflection again, but not one he was anticipating. The gears clicked in his head. There, on his back was a rose made of flames etched into his skin.

_"That's a problem."_

* * *

><p>Psst, if you have any ideas or things you want to see in future chapters PLEEEASE send me a message with said things.<p> 


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